Church Of St Kyneburgha

The Church of St Kyneburgha is a Norman church, prominently situated on the north side of Peterborough Road in Castor. Its dedication is unique in England, being to Kyneburga, daughter of Penda, King of Mercia, who founded a nunnery in the area around 650. Traces of this earlier nunnery are said to remain within the church.

The church’s primary structure is Norman, featuring a particularly important Norman crossing tower, along with Norman north and south transepts, a nave, and a chancel. The nave has a Perpendicular clerestory and a Norman west window with shafts, below which is a curvilinear, traceried three-light window. A Norman south doorway is possibly a reset. The Decorated north aisle is characterised by five-light, square-headed windows. The 13th-century south aisle has a four-centred arch window with articulated tracery, as well as lancets in the west ends of both the north and south aisles. The Norman south transept has a late 13th-century aisle on its east side, featuring Y-traceried windows and a south window with geometric tracery. The Norman north transept contains a Y-traceried window where a Norman window originally stood; the left hand jamb and half of the arch remain. The Norman chancel boasts a tympanum-shaped stone above a niche containing an inscription recording the consecration date of 1124, positioned above the Norman south door. The chancel also has Perpendicular north lancets and a five-light Perpendicular east window, as well as a Perpendicular south window. A 15th-century south porch displays a Norman/Saxon tympanum in its gable, depicting a figure of Christ.

The extremely fine Norman crossing tower comprises four stages divided by corbel tables. The first stage is plain, while the second stage has large two-light windows with billet surrounds, flanked by two-light arcading, with tile-pattern ashlar above the arches. The top bell stage has fine, subdivided arches – the outer ones blind – with fish-scale ashlar above. Above the top corbel table is a 14th-century parapet and a short, broach spire with lucarnes.

Inside, the crossing arches have roll mouldings and demi-shafts, with capitals featuring interlace decoration including leaves, birds, and beasts, surmounted by a later ribbed vault. There are three-bay north and south arcades; the north arcade is Decorated, with octagonal piers, circular capitals, and double-chamfered pointed arches. The south arcade has round piers and capitals with double-chamfered round arches. A moulded 15th-century nave roof displays cambered tie-beams, and the porch also has a 15th-century roof. A 14th-century south door bears an inscription in the border reading "RICHARDUS BEBY RECTOR ECCLECIE DE CASTRE FE(CIT)". 14th-century wall paintings are found in the north aisle, alongside a 14th-century octagonal font with a modern stem. A small Saxon sculpture is located in the chancel, and a base of a Saxon cross with interlace decoration and dragons (likely originally a Roman altar) is in the north aisle. A recumbent effigy in the chancel is believed to depict Virgilius, Rector in 1228.